by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
Saturday October 15, 2022
Somalia is at war with a cruel, global and morally bankrupt terrorist
group which we cannot allow to live and operate in our country. If we do not
root this evil and mindlessly violent group out of our society, they will
destroy our future and that of the generations to come. Enough is enough! This
nightmare must finally end.
Al-Shabaab
has made it their standard operating procedure to kill, maim, extort, and rob
the Somali people of their hard-earned sources of livelihood and property. They
remain the most existential threat to the gradually recovering Somali state. At
this painfully difficult time of humanitarian and economic challenges, they
continue to blow up water wells, forcefully take away people's livestock and
extort payment from struggling businesses that support families, individuals,
and their communities. This group is a cancer in our system, and we must
respond with our collective might to challenge and defeat them once and for
all. If we do not do this, Somalia's future and the welfare of the coming
generations will be bleak.
I am proud of
the courage of our resilient communities across Somalia which have joined
forces with their government security services to make a firm stand against
Al-Shabab and their abuse and subjugation of our people and nation. Our unified
message is clear: we will no longer be bullied, humiliated, killed, or
extorted. We will defend ourselves, our communities, and our country against
international terrorists. Terrorism will have no friend or anywhere to call
home in Somalia.
Since
the fight against global terrorism began in Somalia in 2007, there has never
been a time when I felt more hopeful about defeating Al-Shabaab than I am now.
That is because, today, we are united, energized and determined to secure a
better future for our nation. Somalia's bright light of hope will not be
darkened by terrorists any longer. We will progress and prosper together while
the terrorists will, and must, be defeated and consigned to the dustbin of
history.
To diminish
and defeat Al-Shabab, we have taken a whole government approach complemented by
popular community support to counter the different pillars that enable
Al-Shabaab. Our government sincerely acknowledges the importance of a
comprehensive approach and unity of purpose. We believe robust interagency
cooperation is vital for defeating Al-Shabab which is why we have developed a
comprehensive strategy to diminish the threat of Al-Shabab and ultimately
eradicate them. In the coming weeks and months, I assure you, our beloved
citizens, that we will keep pursuing the enemy and recovering many crucial
areas and delivering humanitarian aid and development to liberated areas.
While the
Somali government and our international partners have been actively engaging
the violent Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab for some time, it is our people's
actions and ambitions today that re-invigorate our joint actions to defeat
them.
Al-Shabaab
will not be defeated by the gun alone. We must use military force, corrective
ideological education, and starve them off their illicit financing. I reiterate
my call to the Somali people to have faith in our collective efforts and to
bravely resist cooperating with Al-Shabaab in any shape or form, regardless of
the cost.
We must
challenge Al-Shabaab on their fraudulent sabotage of our beautiful, peaceful
Islamic religion. We, who love peace, are true Muslims. The blood-thirsty
murdering terrorists cannot even comprehend the true meaning of Islam’s message
of hope, peace, and progress for all humanity. Indeed, Allah SWT is the Most
merciful and makes it a duty upon us to be gracious and compassionate to others
at all times.
Over the
years, we have sadly lost many in the fight against Al-Shabab. Many brave
citizens and international partners have paid the ultimate price to protect our
communities from the group’s evil actions. Today, as we take the fight to them,
they seek to deter us with their last-ditch efforts of cowardly violence and
threats against innocent people, their property, and their livelihoods. We will
not be prevented by these actions but will re-double our courageous efforts and
continue marching forward to end this misery and progress steadily to
sustainable development.
The reality
is that we cannot focus on achieving sustainable development by addressing our
urgent socio-economic and political reforms if the violence of Al-Shabab
constantly disrupts us. Al-Shabab does not care about Islam or Somalia’s
progress or development. They want to destroy our future for their criminal
benefit. We can never allow them to succeed. Therefore, it is the
responsibility of every Somali citizen to continue doing all they can to
counter Al-Shabaab’s criminality and evil actions in their communities
alongside their government. I am confident, if we do this effectively, we will
be victorious insha Allah.
H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is the President of
the Federal Republic of Somalia:
Twitter: @HassanSMohamud, Facebook: www.facebook.com/HassanSheikhMahmud